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The authorities of Barcelona, Spain, reported this November 30 that a fire that devastated an abandoned bank headquarters occupied by immigrants, left four people dead. The fatalities were members of the same family: the parents, of Pakistani and Romanian origin, and two children of one and three years of age.
A fire tragedy struck a group of immigrants in Barcelona.
The Mossos de Esquadra opened an investigation to determine the causes of a fire in an abandoned premises where the Evo bank formerly operated and which was occupied by two families.
A fire in an abandoned bank office, occupied by several people in Barcelona, left four dead, including a small child and a baby, reported firefighters in the Spanish city. Four other people, who fled the flames to a patio, were rescued #AFP pic.twitter.com/B1OduO7jCY
– Agence France-Presse (@AFPespanol) November 30, 2021
After a call from a resident of the sector, the emergency services found the bodies of four members of the same family: the father, of Pakistani origin, the mother, from Romania, and her two children, one and three years old. .
The victims died of smoke inhalation and had resided at the disaster site for a year, authorities said.
Firefighters also found four other people sheltering at the scene and were injured, although they are out of harm’s way, local officials said.
“The firefighters rescued 4 people and tried to resuscitate 4 more (2 adults, 1 child and 1 baby), who ended up dying,” said the Barcelona fire department through its Twitter account.
The victims “lived in unacceptable conditions”
The Minister of the Interior, Joan Ignasi Elena, regretted the deaths and stressed that the victims “lived in unacceptable conditions and that challenges us as a Government”
For her part, the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, assured that it was “a precarious home” and that municipal social services had cared for the family with young children to offer them education, medical care and food.
In addition, the official regretted that the banking entities ignore the premises that they stop using.
In recent years, the many abandoned buildings unsuitable for accommodation, but irregularly occupied by homeless people in and around Barcelona, are creating a serious risk.
A year ago, several people died in an abandoned warehouse where dozens of people lived without authorization, in Badalona, a suburb of the Catalan capital.
With Reuters and local media
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